Cornerback Drills

Agility Drills

It's 2nd and 5 and the opposing offense is on it's own goal line. You know
that in these situations, most offenses just wanna get their backs away from
the endzone and eliminate any chance of a safety.

Second and short is a throw-away down, so there is a chance they might go a
for a long ball, but its very unlikely.

Instead of sitting there trying to figure out what they might do, you decide
to make them react to you.

Coach has called Cover 2, so you're supposed to be playing close, forcing the
receiver to the inside, and then backing off into the flats. But you back off
to seven yards, signaling the other cornerback to do the same, and tell him
to still play Cover 2 but "show" off man.

The quarterback sees this and immediately begins to audible the play. He's
taken the bait. They desperately want to get their backs out of the endzone.
The quick hitch is coming.

He snaps the ball. You read him. Quick three-step drop for him, quick two
read steps for you. As soon as the ball leaves his hand, he knows the
mistake he just made.

You've already begun your drive toward the ball. The receiver tries to reach
for it, but it's too late. You pick the ball off and walk easily into the
endzone.

Perfectly played. Why? Because, not only did you beat the offense on the
field, but you also beat the coaches in the sky box.

Keep Them Guessing

As I said in the Reading Offenses section, football is a lot like chess: a
match of wits; and not only between you and the other players, but also
between you and the other coaches.

You want to keep them guessing by disguising your coverages never letting
them get a bead on what you're gonna do.

I'm gonna cover how you can use your Cornerback I.Q. to keep the opposing
team guessing; the players and the coaches' box.

In most games of wit, winning means staying at least two steps ahead of your
opponent and disguising your intentions.

Football is no different.

I already explained what you can do stay ahead of the other team, so now I'm
gonna tell you how to conceal your intentions, by:

disguising your coverages

and disguising your blitzes.

Disguising Your Coverages

Mix It Up

Unless it's already pretty obvious to the other team, you should never let
them know what coverage you're in.

If you are in man coverage, for example, you can fake Cover 2 by playing
outside leverage about 5-7yds off the receiver. Then you can time the snap
and come up and press (inside leverage) at the last minute.

Vice versa, you can be in Cover 2 (see coverages), show off-man, and then
press from the outside at the last minute.

Don't Fall Into A Pattern

Regardless of what the coverage is, make sure the offense never can get a
sense of what you're doing. Don't fall into a pattern, because that's what
coaches and quarterbacks look for.

Then they use those patterns to pick you apart.

Disguising your coverages also has another advantage: it makes it hard for
opposing teams studying your film to determine what your defensive schemes
are by how you line up.

It's hard to plan for a team when you don't even know what they're doing on
film.

Don't Mix Yourself Up

When in the flow of disguising your coverages and playing with the other
teams heads, please don't forget what your assignment is.

That only does two things: makes you look lost, and decreases the confidence
your coach has in you to play smart.

Both are bad.

So, as a Great Cornerback, make sure you remember your assignment and are
competent and confident with what you're doing.

Disguising Your Blitzes

Blitzing from the cornerback spot is a very sneaky, but fun thing to do in
football... if you do it right. If you don't, you will get picked up by a
300-pound lineman, and that's not the business.

How you disguise your blitz is dependent on two things: your alignment, and
how you time the snap count (if you use the snap count at all). If you don't
use the snap count, you can just watch to ball to time your blitz.

Alignment

Your alignment depends on where your receiver lines up, because you want to
sell it to the offense that you're in coverage.

If your receiver is lined up inside, close to the box, you can come up and
pretend that you're pressing, and then attack the backfield at the snap.

If your receiver lines up way outside, the blitz may be called off. If not,
you want to creep up along the line of scrimmage.

Don't just do it whenever, though. You want to be as close as
possible when the ball snaps without giving yourself away, but you have to
time it right. That's where the snap count comes in.

Timing The Snap

When timing the snap, its best to start creeping closer after the QB goes
through his checks.

Before every snap, you'll see the QB check the defense to try to get a read
into what coverage they're in, especially if its a pass play.

When he finishes and begins his cadence, you should start to creep closer,
along the line of scrimmage.

Faking the Blitz

You can also reverse this by selling the blitz, and then dropping back into
coverage.

Sometimes, if a quarterback sees you blitzing, he'll "hot check" to your
receiver for what he thinks is an easy completion. When you drop back,
it's easy pickings.

I recommend you only do this in zone coverage, unless you're certain you can
get back on top of your receiver and lock up.

Remember to keep them guessing. If your opponent is always trying to guess
at your intentions, then you can dictate the pace and outcome of the game.